A Court of Dreams and Healing
by jilyisperfect
Summary: Post ACOWAR 1-shots about life in the Night Court after Hybern. Told from Feyre's point of view.
1. Chapter 1

As the sun began setting over the mountains surrounding Velaris, casting a pink hue on the townhouses down our street, Mor came waltzing into the sitting room wearing her trademark red flowing skirts. Elain and I had been having a late tea and chatting about nothing in particular. I had just finished telling her about my hope of opening up a studio in Velaris, to paint and to teach others painting as well. It was nice, I supposed, to spend time with my older sister, no longer feeling the pressure to ensure her safety, nor the guilt I had felt until so recently about her new fae form.

"Hello, hello, Archeron sisters! I just wanted to let you know that we're all going to Rita's tonight, to celebrate our spectacular victory. I'm even forcing Amren to come, so no excuses!" Mor glanced around the room before adding, "Where's Nesta?"

"Hey Mor, sounds good to me. Nesta is still up in her room, she hasn't been down all day." I replied, glancing at Elain to see a similarly worried expression on her face.

"I've never seen her like this, I really think she's taking our father's death to heart. Perhaps I should go check on her, I'm not sure if she's eaten today..." Before Elain could stand to move toward the stairs that would take her to Nesta's room, I decided,

"No, Elain, you can go get ready for tonight, I'll go check on Nesta," I stood up with a firm nod of my head and walked over to the stairs, sharing a glance with Mor that had me pausing.

"Where are Rhys and the Illyrians? Still up at the House of Wind?" The three males had been in meetings all day, with their various legions and, in Azriel's case, spies. I had forgone the meetings this afternoon to spend time with Elain, making sure she was truly alright.

I quickly sent Rhys a silent question down the adamant bond in my mind, _Are you coming home to me soon?_

I got a deep laugh through the bond in return.

 _Soon, my darling, don't get impatient..._

I sent him back a visual image of me rolling my eyes, before turning to Mor to find out where the males of our court really were. Particularly, the male who I had almost lost forever and who I never wanted to let out of my sight anymore.

Mor smirked at my pointed curiosity, and answered, "I think they're just about finished with their meeting. Cassian said they'd meet us down here in a few minutes, but knowing them, they could be another hour. Feel free to take your time with Nesta."

I sighed internally and began to make my way up the stairs in the front hall of my home, listening as Mor took the seat I had previously been occupying and began chatting Elain's ear off about something or other. Elain seemed pleasantly surprised to have Mor's company, so I let the pair of them be. I was to face a much more difficult task in confronting Nesta and her sullen demeanour.

I knocked on her closed door before entering the dark room, to find Nesta wearing her night clothes and lying, fully awake, in her bed. She looked for all the world like she planned never on leaving her room again, and part of my heart ached to see her in such a morose state. Ever since defeating Hybern, which, though it was just a week ago, felt like centuries past, Nesta had been withdrawn and nearly silent, only coming out of her room at my or Elain's insistence, only eating when we begged her to. It seemed that Nesta was taking the death of our father to heart, blaming herself for what was all truly the King of Hybern's fault.

"Hey Nesta, how are you feeling?" She didn't deign to reply, not even glancing at me as I spoke.

After a period of silence, I tried again. "We're going to Rita's tonight, its going to be really fun. I'd love for you to join us." I slowly walked toward the edge of her bed, before sitting on the end of it and waiting for her to answer.

Finally, she said quietly, "Go without me, Feyre, I'm certainly not in the mood for dancing."

"Oh, you don't have to dance, Cauldron knows I never do. Its fun to be with people though, I really believe you could use a change of scenery right now."

"I'm truly fine, I would like to be alone. Close the door on your way out." I sighed, knowing a lost cause when I saw one, and stood, heading for the door. As I neared it though, Nesta suddenly blurted,

"Will Cassian be there?" I smiled to myself, before schooling my face into one of kindness and turning back to face my sister.

"Sure, all of our friends are going. I'm sure everyone would love to see you there." Acting obtuse around the subject of Cassian was probably best, I had decided, as I still had not let on to Nesta that I knew about their mid-battle kiss just a week ago. Nesta seemed to be trying to decide whether to ask further about Cassian, and so I allowed her more information without the inevitable damage to her pride.

"Cassian is fully healed, by the way. He's feeling a lot better. Is there any reason why you ask?" Nesta only made a small noise of acknowledgement, but I decided to sit back down on her bed anyway.

Nesta looking like she has having an internal battle, deciding whether or not to let me in on a piece of information that, unbeknown to her, I was already aware of. Finally, she cracked.

"Feyre, something happened with Cassian and I. Now, normally I would speak to Elain, but I do not wish to burden her when she seems to be in such a healthy place. Besides, you know more on the topic of males anyway." That I did, though I'm sure Nesta intended it to be an insult. She and Elain still carried with them an entirely human sense of propriety, though it seemed that Elain was beginning to loosen up as she spent more time in Prythian with other fae. Nesta, however, held in her mind the antiquated idea that females and males should not express any sort of romantic notions to one another until they were happily married. Nesta had always disagreed with my rebellions of this nature, though she had mostly kept them to herself. I, for one, was fine with her keeping her comments to herself.

"What could have happened between you and Cassian, Nesta?" Playing stupid would be the only way to get any real information out of Nesta, it seemed. That was fine, I could play stupid if I had to. It was for my sister and her happiness after all, if my sneaking suspicion about her mating bond was correct.

"Well, a week ago, during that final battle, when Cassian and I confronted the King, we... shared a romantic moment."

I sighed. She was going to be difficult about this, I could already tell. "Did he kiss you, Nesta?" She had turned as bright red as Mor's dress, and didn't meet my eye as she nodded subtly.

"And now you're avoiding him, right?" Another nod. I had never once seen my older sister act this way, but it was apparent that she was quite out of her element. Elain may have been the kinder, sweeter sister, but I knew what to do in this situation. My own romantic troubles of past had taught me that much.

"You need to come to Rita's with us tonight, Nesta. I promise you, it's for the best. I can tell you have feelings for him, and anyone with a set of eyes could see that he feels strongly about you."

There was a long pause before she answered, looking completely uncomfortable with the topic of conversation.

"I just don't know what I want. I've never... been in this situation before. And what if he doesn't feel the same way that I do?"

I smiled to myself, and propped my feet up on her bed, getting comfortable.

"Nesta, you are no coward. You have proven that time and time again. You have faced down the King of Hybern, someone so powerful that High Lords shake when confronted by him. Beron could barely stand the thought of facing him, and you killed him. You are no coward, Nesta. But I know how scary this can be. When I realized my feelings for Rhys, I felt the same. It can be overwhelming, the fear that you might give your entire heart to someone, love them with everything you have, only to find that they do not return the sentiment. But I know you, and I know Cassian. I can tell that if you give him the chance, he will give you an eternity of love.

"Its frightening, and terrifying, and downright horrible to imagine loving someone who does not feel the same way, I know. But when you meet someone that you have that connection with... it makes all of the heartache and worry and fear worth it." I started tearing up, thinking of Rhys and all that we had endured so that we could find each other, so we could be together.

"I know what it is to love, and to be loved, with every fibre of your being. And because you're my sister, and I love you, Nesta, I can only encourage you to find your happiness, so that you might feel the same way that I do. So I insist that you come out with us tonight. You're no coward, Nesta, and you know well that it is time to confront this fear. So lets find you an outfit."

And with that, I stood up from her bed and went to her armoire, in the corner of the room by the window. The sun was still setting, though it was lower now than it had been during my tea. I opened the doors to find a litany of dresses, in mostly darker colours, and started sorting through them. I could tell Nesta was still watching me with wide eyes, as she had throughout my little speech, but I knew that I had gotten through to her.

Finally, I pulled out a dark red gown, conservatively cut, as Nesta would feel most comfortable in, but snug enough that it would make her curves apparent. Perfect.

I laid it on the bed beside where she sat, and told her,

"We'll be leaving in a half hour. I'm sure that will be enough time to get ready. I'll see you then." As I turned to leave, I was shocked to find Nesta barreling toward me, scooping me in for what was probably only the third hug I had ever received from her. Stunned, I stood there for a moment before wrapping my arms around her and returning the gesture.

"Thank you, Feyre. I know what needs to be done." Nesta smiled a bit as she said it, and I was touched at the kindness and gratitude apparent in her eyes. It seemed that though the war had taken its toll on all of my court, it had also softened the cold outer shell of Nesta's heart.

She pulled away at last, and went to her bathing room to prepare. I smiled to myself as I left, feeling much lighter than I had before the exchange had occurred.


	2. Note

Hi Everyone,

So I randomly wrote what is known now as chapter 1 of A Court of Dreams and Healing one morning in half an hour because I was bored, and I've been kind of stumped on how to continue the story. So, if anyone has any prompts for 1-shots, I would love to hear them! You'll be doing me a huge favour, because I am in the middle of exams season and writing little stories about my fave characters ever, ie the court of dreams, is a great way to procrastinate. So, let me know! Also, if anyone has any questions or comments, feel free to message me or write it in the reviews. Ok, thanks and back to regularly scheduled programming.

-Alexandra


	3. Chapter 2

I woke up at dawn to Rhys's sleeping face next to mine, a sense of contentment on his face, and I knew that it would be a while before I left our bed to start my day. I slowly stretched out, opening my eyes fully. It was freezing outside, as was the case in December in the Night Court, and I relished the warmth radiating from the male sleeping next to me. I looked over at my mate, with his beautiful dark hair and tanned skin looking so youthful in rest. I lightly traced the lines of the tattoo on his shoulder, first with my finger and then with my lips, the Illyrian whorls dancing before my eyes. My stroking must have woken him though, as when I looked back over to his face, I found him looking at me intensely with those violet eyes that seemed to hold universes inside of them.

"Good morning," I said casually, as he stretched out, his bare torso revealed by the white sheets he pushed off of him. I tried hard not to think about what was lower than that torso, I knew that doing that would only lead to trouble, and I had things to do today. But I knew from the instant we both realized that we were still naked from the night before, we wouldn't be starting our day anytime soon.

"Good morning to you, Feyre darling," Rhys said with his lazy, oh-so-male smirk that made me weak in the knees. As he leaned over to close the space between our bodies, he muttered, "And a very happy birthday to you too."

I swore internally, even as he fiercely kissed me. As lovely as it was that he had remembered it, I had hoped he would forget to mention that it was my birthday, I didn't want to make a big deal of it. I decided I would ask him not to say anything to the others. Well, I would ask him _after_ he was finished doing whatever he was now doing to my neck that was making my heart race. And with that decision made, every thought emptied from my mind and I became laser focused on how his tongue was slowly dancing its way down my body, and what I could do with my tongue to elicit the same reaction from him that he was now causing me. As his calloused fingers brushed deftly up the inside of my thigh, I knew we wouldn't be leaving this bed for a while.

Much, much later, we lay in bed side by side, still panting heavily from the pleasure we had just wrung from each other. I rested my head on his left shoulder, feeling his chest rising and falling in time with his breaths. How close he had come, just months ago, to never breathing again left me paralyzed with fear. He seemed to be able to tell that I was upset, in the way that we could always sense each others discomfort, and he pulled me closer to him still, his left arm stroking mine in a way that had me positively melting.

"I'm here, Feyre. I'm safe. We're going to be happier now, I promise." He had been repeating the sentiment for months, whenever I started to worry about losing him as I so nearly had less than a year ago.

"I love you, Rhys. Every second I get to spend with you is a gift." I sighed and lifted my head up to kiss the corner of his mouth lightly before returning to rest on his shoulder.

"Likewise, Feyre Cursebreaker," he teased lightly. I stuck my tongue out at the nickname before ever-so-slowly sitting up. Rhys let out what sounded like the manliest attempt at a whine I had ever heard when he realized I intended to get out of our bed.

"Where are you going in such a hurry? We don't have any plans until tonight, and I want to spend your birthday inside of our bed," Rhys said slyly, and mentally added, _and inside of you,_ still smirking as usual. I tossed him a breezy smile over my shoulder as I walked to my dresser, where my clothes for the day lay. I wouldn't get distracted by his insinuations, I had a mission on my mind.

"I plan on doing something other than sleeping with you today, Rhys, as tempting as your proposal sounds." He had the nerve to look shocked at that, as if he truly had planned on not leaving our bed for the entire day. Knowing Rhys, that was fully possible. "Oh, and please don't mention it's my birthday to any of our friends. I don't really want anyone to make a fuss, let's just celebrate the winter solstice as usual, without anything added in."

"If that's what you want, than consider me silent on the matter. Though I'm sure they wouldn't make a big deal of it if you asked them not to. With the exception of Mor, maybe," he added with a boyish grin. As I slipped into my white, flowing blouse and brown flying leather pants, he rose from the bed and came over to where I was standing. He snapped his fingers once and he was fully dressed in his usual black jacket and pants, and embraced me once more.

"For what it's worth, happy birthday, mate." I sighed once more into his chest, now covered with cloth.

"I do want to spend the day with you though." I smiled up at him, our mating bond shining as clear as the min-winter sun outside now shone.

"Oh? And what did you have in mind for us today, Feyre darling?" He teased, one of his hands clasping my hip, the other trailing circles on my back.

"I want to go to the Rainbow of Velaris. I want to find a space to make into a gallery. I finally feel whole enough again to paint, and I miss it so much. And I still want to have you as my first painting subject, if you would be so inclined." As I placed one hand over his beating heart, I looked into his eyes to find the elation he felt shining back at me. He gripped my hip harder as he replied lightly,

"As I said before, nude would be best." And with a chuckle from him and a slight eye roll from me, we headed down to the kitchen hand in hand, where our breakfast waited.

It seemed Rhys had neglected to mention that our entire court was waiting for us downstairs in our sitting room when we awoke. Cassian smirked at us as we made our way down the stairs. It was apparent that he, along with Azriel, Mor, and Amren, had heard exactly what Rhys and I had been up to in the privacy of our room. We hadn't exactly bothered to be quiet, I hadn't known anyone would be around to hear. Rhys, on the other hand, tended to be proud and public with how he showed his affection for me, not that I was complaining. But still, a bit of a heads-up that our friends were around would have been nice.

"Don't say what you want to say, Cassian. It's too early for your bullshit." I was instantly in a worse mood at the sight of Cassian's smirk, though the Cauldron knew I had no reason to be.

"What's wrong, Feyre? Wake up on the wrong side of the bed?" I snarled at him before making my way down the hall into the kitchen where Nesta sat eating a pastry for breakfast. The rest of our court followed after me, filing into the kitchen and sitting at the breakfast table. I looked around and asked,

"Where's Elain? Is she still asleep?"

"I doubt it, with how loud you two were bei-omph!" Cassian groaned as I elbowed him in the stomach. Hard.

"Elain will be down in a minute, she was just getting ready." Nesta replied succinctly from her seat beside Cassian, not impressed by my sudden outburst of violence.

We all served our breakfasts and Mor started chatting away with Rhys about the festivities for the night ahead. The winter solstice was a big deal here in the Night Court, as it was the longest night of the year. I smiled to myself, thinking of how fitting it was that the high lady of the Night Court be born on such an auspicious day. Rhys laughed openly at something Azriel said, and I was reminded for the thousandth time of just how much I loved the family I had found myself a part of. Even when Cassian was being... well, Cassian, or when Amren was particularly cranky, or Mor was in an overexcited state, I adored each of them like nothing else.

I could tell Elain was drawing near even before I heard her footsteps, only by the look on Azriel's face as his shadows sensed her approach. I turned in my seat to look to the door where she entered from, smiling. What a change these few months had brought upon my sisters. Elain, once shy and withdrawn, upset to the nth degree about her new fate as fae, had now blossomed. The colour that had disappeared for too long had returned to her cheeks, and her once sullen demeanour had been replaced by one far more upbeat and cheerful. She had received some closure with her old fiancee, Greyson, a while ago, and and confessed to me that she was fully ready to move on. With Lucien still in the mortal realms, helping to rebuild, however, I wondered what Elain might do.

"Oh, hello, everyone. I wasn't expecting the entire court to be here." Elain's beaming smile was directed specifically at Azriel, but she spoke to us all as she slid into the last empty chair at the table and grabbed the juice from beside her.

"What is everyone up to today? I know Rhys has given everyone the day off to prepare for the solstice festival tonight." Elain was also a natural at making easy conversation, it seemed. I think she inherited that from our mother, the socialite.

"Well, as I'm supposed to be in charge of the party, I'll be running around getting that ready, unfortunately. I do wish I could join you, though." Mor replied kindly. She and Elain had become good friends soon after the war with Hybern had ended, much to my delight. Their similar senses of kindness clicked, as did their taste in clothes. Elain had found Velaris, and the Palace of Thread and Jewels, to be a treasure trove in which she felt more than comfortable to spend _my_ money. Not that I was complaining, not when I had found myself part of Rhys's family, beholden to all their wealth.

I still marvelled at that, sometimes. He was my family, the love of my life, my _mate_. I was so lucky, so insanely lucky to have found him, and to be able to hold him.

As if he could read my thoughts, which he definitely could, Rhys grabbed my hand from where he sat beside me at the round table.

 _Let's leave now, start our search early._ Rhys said, mind to mind. I laughed down the bond in return, and answered,

 _Well isn't someone impatient. Maybe you shouldn't have invited the entire court to dine with us if you wanted to get me alone._

 _A tragic error. I've learned from my mistake and vow never to make it again, my darling. Now let's go, before Cassian's 'jokes' end in a fight._

I smiled and met my mate's eyes before standing up and placing my dish in the sink.

"Rhys and I are off. We're going to the Rainbow, to find some supplies for me." I said simply, not wanting to reveal my plan to open a gallery space to everyone just yet.

"See you two later!" Chimed Mor, as Rhys stood and made for the exit. And right as I was about to leave, Elain added,

"Oh, I almost forgot! Happy Birthday, Feyre!"

I swore out loud, that time, as Mor perked up immensely, glancing with me with excitement and interest gleaming in her eyes.

 **Hi Again,**

 **This was chapter 2 of my lil story, thanks for reading! I've decided to make this part into a couple chapters, because I'm impatient and want to publish this part without writing out the entire story first. So yeah, more on Feyre's birthday to come :) Feel free to tell me what you think, as with most people on this site, I looove feedback!**

 **Also, I've never written a sex scene before, and if I do, I will change the rating of the fic to M, but for now I think I'm on the T side of the line. If you disagree, though, tell me, because I really value your input. Also, tell me if the almost-sex-but-not-quite part at the beginning of this chapter was awful, because I really am not sure.**

 **Ok, thanks, and I will probably be posting the next part of the story later tonight or tomorrow.**

 **-Alexandra**


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